The weak link of the Detroit Lions defense the past few seasons might suddenly be a strength.
The Lions had two sacks, a third negated by penalty, forced a fumble and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown as their pass rush continued an impressive summer in a 17-13 win over the Washington Commanders on Saturday, Aug. 22, in preseason action at Ford Field.
D.J. Wonnum had a sack on the Lions’ second defensive play and rookie Derrick Moore had a sack-fumble late in the first half as the Lions sat key defensive starters Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill and Jack Campbell with a little over three weeks to go until the regular season opener Sept. 13 against the New Orleans Saints.
Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Penei Sewell
also did not play for the Lions.
The Lions’ revamped pass rush has been an issue for their own offense much of training camp, and second-year defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s many blitz packages proved a problem for a Commanders team that played most of its first-team offense for a series.
Devin White forced a Jayden Daniels incompletion on the Commanders’ first offensive play with a pressure up the middle on a zone blitz when the Lions rushed four and dropped Wonnum into coverage, and Wonnum’s sack came one play later on a five-man pressure when the Lions blitzed linebacker Derrick Barnes.
Moore, playing in his first preseason game after sitting out last week’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals with a minor groin strain, got his sack on a four-man rush, and the Lions forced a field goal on a third down midway through the third quarter with a seven-man pressure.
[ Watch our Lions-Commanders live reactions show and look ahead to the regular season. ]
The Lions revamped their defensive line this offseason, drafting Moore in the second round out of Michigan and signing Wonnum in free agency to give Sheppard more options to pair with Hutchinson and McNeill on their defensive line.
Hutchinson and McNeill have been dominant in camp, and Wonnum and Moore have added juice to a pass rush that lost Al-Quadin Muhammad and his 11 sacks in free agency.
Player of the Game: Lions RBs
The Lions had 169 yards rushing Saturday, including 128 in the first half - 50 on Josh Dobbs' touchdown run. And while the offensive line deserves a tip of the cap for opening some sizable holes, the Lions got big plays from nearly every running back who touched the ball.
Jabari Small had an 11-yard run to open the third offensive after the Lions started with two turnovers. Trayveon Williams made a nice cutback on a 14-yard run just before the two-minute warning of the first half to set up a Jake Bates field goal attempt. And Raheem Blackshear was a bull on three straight red-zone carries, including his 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Jacob Saylors had 32 yards rushing on six first half carries and has widely been presumed to be the Lions’ No. 4 running back behind Gibbs, Isiah Pacheco and Sione Vaki. That still may be the case because of his special teams value, but the Lions have a nice collection of backs on their roster.
The QBs: Josh Dobbs and Luke Altmyer
On the first two drives, Dobbs committed turnovers. He lost a fumble the Commanders recovered for their only touchdown Saturday, and then threw an interception. Dobbs was 7-for-12 for 74 yards and started the third quarter.
Undrafted rookie Altmyer was 9 of 13 passing for 86 yards off the bench, rotating in during the second quarter and fourth quarter.
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DE Eric O’Neill: An undrafted rookie out of Rutgers, O’Neill has had a nice two weeks. He had a big hit on Joe Burrow in Week 1 of the preseason and a pick-six in practice last week, and he had three straight big plays in the fourth quarter Saturday. O’Neill beat right tackle Nicholas Petti-Frere to stuff a second-and-short run play, knifed inside tight end Lawerence Cooper for another run stop on third-and-2 and then pressured Sam Hartman into an incomplete pass on fourth down. O’Neill might not make the 53-man roster, but he’s made people take notice of his play.Trending down
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CB Nick Whiteside: Whiteside has had some nice moments in camp, but his limitations in coverage were apparent when he got beat on two deep balls Saturday. The first didn’t matter when Athan Kaliakmanis underthrew his receiver on a free play after Moore jumped offside. The second went for a 55-yard gain and set up a Washington field goal.
WR Cedric Wilson Jr.: Wilson started off the game hot with two catches for 21 yards on the Lions’ third offensive series, but he limped off the field with a left leg injury on the same series and did not return. On a day when Tay Martin played well on special teams but had a drop and didn’t finish running another route across the middle, Wilson had a chance to make his case for the No. 5 receiver spot but is now dealing with an injury that could impact his chances of winning a job.
Lions schedule: Next up
The Lions close the preseason next Saturday, Aug. 29, against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Goff hasn't played in a preseason game since 2022 and probably will be joined on the sideline by most starters next week, but the game is the final evaluation the front office and coaching staff will have on players competing for back-end roster spots.
A little more than 24 hours after the Lions wrap up exhibition play, they'll have to cut their roster to 53 players by 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. Among the battles still to sort out: Who wins the backup quarterback job?
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions give glimpse of pass rushing might in preseason win vs Commanders
